India-Bangladesh Border: souls reunite

Dhaka, Thousands of people from Bangladesh and India met their relatives from either side at border points in Ranishankail and Haripur upazilas of Thakurgaon district in Northern Bangladesh on Friday and Saturday.

People thronged either side of the five-km border fence for several hours.People from Chapashar area of Haripur upazila and Kuchal area of Ranishankail upazila of Bangladesh and those from Nargao and Makarhat of Coochbehar district in India gathered to meet their near and dear ones, defying a barbwire fence in between them.

At every year, the border forces of both the countries, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Border Security Forces (BSF) allow people to meet their relatives on the occasion of Patharkali Mela.

Thousands of people from both the countries, especially those, who cannot afford to visit their relatives through real travel, eagerly await each year for this special day.

Haripur police station officer-in-charge Amiruzzaman said people from both sides exchanged their views, offered foods to each other while BGB men observed them standing along the border.

However, they could not hug each other as the barbed wire stood as a barrier, many failed to hold back tears.